Micro air vehicles can trace their beginnings to model airplanes, which typically resemble full size airplanes. Micro air vehicles generally encompass all relatively small unmanned flying objects, such as those having wingspans less than about 36 inches. Micro air vehicles are often powered by small gasoline or electric propeller driven engines. Micro air vehicles are relatively lightweight vehicles capable of being used for a variety of purposes, such as for recreation, reconnaissance, and other purposes. Because of their small size, micro air vehicles lend themselves to a variety of uses.
Many micro air vehicles have fixed, rigid wings that are incapable of having their wing span reduced for storage. Micro air vehicles having fixed wings are often difficult to store and do not lend themselves for storage in a knapsack or other item typically carried by military personnel in reconnaissance missions. Some micro air vehicles have collapsible wings that pivot about one or more pivot points. Typically, these micro air vehicles require a series of assembly steps to transform the micro air vehicle from a deployable condition to a storage condition, and vice versa.
Because of their small size and ability to go relatively unnoticed, micro air vehicles have been outfitted with cameras, both still frame cameras and video cameras, and used in hostile areas for reconnaissance purposes. However, many of the micro air vehicles are inconvenient to be carried by military personnel because of their cumbersome wing span and shape. Thus, a need exists for a micro air vehicle having wings capable of having their wingspan reduced. In addition, other micro air vehicles having wings with reduceable wingspans require a plurality of assembly steps to transform the wings of the micro air vehicle from a deployable condition to a storage condition, and vice versa. Such requirements prevent these micro air vehicles from being deployed quickly and without human interaction. If micro air vehicles were able to be transformed between a storage condition and a deployable condition without assembly steps, the micro air vehicles could be used in a greater variety of applications. Thus, a need exists for a micro air vehicle capable of being transformed between a storage condition and a deployable condition without assembly steps.